The present invention relates gerneral to musical wind instruments, and is more specifically directed to ocarinas and the airways incorporated therein.
Whistle flutes or fipple flutes are a family of wind instruments employing a whistle type mouthpiece, and are among the most ancient of all musical instruments. Among this family are the recorder (also known as a fipple flute or English flute), the flageolet, and the ocarina. The ocarina dates back to antiquity, and is reported to be of South American or Central American descent, though there are indications of its use in other parts of the world.
While it has been generally believed that the qualities of simplicity and limited tonal capacity were inexorably linked in ocarinas, some efforts have been made to improve their musical quality. However, these efforts have been largely unacceptable because they have failed to simultaneously overcome prior art limits on both tonal volume and tonal range.
While popular folk instruments in various circles, the acceptance of prior art ocarinas as concert-quality instruments has been hampered by certain limitations. Two common problems with prior art ocarinas are that they either lack sufficient tonal volume (i.e., loudness), sufficient tonal range (i.e., the number of notes that they can sound), or both. Ocarinas include an airway that directs a musician""s airstream across a fipple window to impinge upon a fipple edge, and a series of toneholes disposed on the instrument body penetrating into at least one resonating cavity. An ocarina fipple edge that is a short distance from the point at which air exits the airway (i.e., a short fipple window) will produce a clear focused sound and will play a relatively wide range of notes. However, such an ocarina must be blown relatively softly or the sound will disappear. As a result, the sound emitted from the ocarina will be rather quiet. In addition, the size of the toneholes directly correlates to the size of the tipple window in an accurately tuned ocarina. A short fipple window and its correspondingly small toneholes contribute to a more subdued instrument because small openings do not allow soundwaves to radiate as freely from the instrument""s interior into the surrounding air. Conversely, if the fipple edge is moved farther from the point at which air exits the airway (i.e., if the fipple window is made longer), the instrument""s loudness will increase because of increased allowable blowing pressure and increased radiation of sound through the larger fipple window and the correspondingly larger toneholes. However, the usual result of a longer fipple window is that the tonal range will either decrease or high notes will be very airy or squeaky. Accordingly, excellent tonal range and excellent tonal volume have rarely been united in prior art ocarinas. Airway/fipple edge design is at the root of the dilemma.
Generally, prior art ocarina airways have fit into two categories: those with straight airways, and those with angled (converging) airways. A straight airway tends to produce focused sound but constricts the airstream too much to allow sufficient blowing pressure for good volume. If the straight airway is expanded to allow for increased blowing pressure, the airway will not adequately focus the airstream over the fipple edge, causing high notes to be too airy or fail to xe2x80x98speakxe2x80x99 at all. A properly and precisely made angled airway is usually superior to a straight airway because it lessens the resistance to an airstream, permitting greater blowing pressure while still focusing air over the fipple edge. However, the airstream exiting the angled airway tends to be too turbulent to support a wide tonal range with clear focused high notes. Hence, the fipple window must be brought in closer to the end of the airway, thereby reducing the loudness of the instrument.
Based on the foregoing, there is a current need for ocarinas with full soundxe2x80x94suitable for public performance with or without accompanying musiciansxe2x80x94and a wider than previously attainable tonal range.
The novel airway used in the ocarina described herein consists of a nozzle section and a throat section. The nozzle section concentrates the airstream and also reduces resistance to the same, allowing greater blowing pressure. The throat section accurately aims the airstream at the fipple edge (much in the same way that a shotgun barrel tightly focuses the exiting shot) and allows the airstream to exit the airway with a minimum of counterproductive turbulence.
Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks and difficulties associated with prior art ocarinas. It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide an airway for use in ocarinas that provides a concert quality enhanced tonal range.
The present invention is directed to a fipple flute having an instrument body that includes an outer surface and defines an interior resonating cavity. An airway for introducing air blown into the fipple flute by a user into the resonating cavity extends from the outer surface. The airway includes a nozzle section beginning at the outer surface and extending partway through the instrument body and a throat section extending from the nozzle section into the resonating cavity. An upper surface is defined by the instrument body that includes a plurality of toneholes which extend through the body into the resonating cavity. The toneholes are adapted to be covered or uncovered by the user while blowing into the airway to produce different notes from the fipple flute. At least one fipple window extends through the instrument body and is positioned adjacent to and aligned with the throat section of the airway, thereby allowing a portion of the air blown into the fipple flute to enter the resonating cavity and a portion of the air to exit the fipple window.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the instrument body includes a body member having a lower surface and at least one upstanding wall extending about the periphery of the lower surface. The lower surface and the upstanding wall cooperate to define the resonating cavity. A cover is secured to an upper edge of the upstanding wall and thereby encloses the resonating cavity. The upstanding wall and cover cooperate to define a mouthpiece section having an outer edge with the airway extending from the outer edge into the resonating cavity. The cover includes the above-described fipple window which defines a fipple edge adjacent to an exit defined by the throat section of the airway, the fipple edge being perpendicular to an airstream exiting the throat section. The lower surface of the body member defines at least one tonehole extending therethrough into the resonating cavity adapted to be covered or uncovered by the thumb of the user while playing the instrument.
Preferably, the fipple flute is in the form of an ocarina that is generally rectangular in shape. However, the present invention is not limited in this regard as the fipple flute can also be oval-shaped without departing from the broadest aspects of the present invention.